Delhi Police recovers over 2,200 live cartridges ahead of I-Day

Ahead of Independence Day, the Delhi Police recovered over 2,200 live cartridges near Anand Vihar Inter State Bus Terminal and arrested six people in this connection, officials said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Ajmal (20), Rashid alias Lallan (20) and Saddam, all residents of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, Parikshit Negi, a native of Dehradun in Uttarakhand, Kamran from Delhi, and Nasir, a resident of Roorki in Uttarakhand, they said.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Vikramjit Singh, prima facie, the accused appear to be part of a criminal network but he said terror angle is also being probed.

"A total of 2,251 live cartridges have been recovered. At around 6.30 pm on August 6, we received information from an auto-rickshaw driver who informed us that he had spotted two persons near Anand Vihar ISBT carrying heavy bags.

"Police...intercepted them, checked their bag and recovered the live cartridges that included various types of imported ammunition," Singh said.

The two men were identified as Ajmal Khan and Rashid. They were booked under Arms Act, and during investigation, they revealed that they had received the ammunition from a person in Dehradun in Uttarakhand and it was to be delivered in Lucknow, Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) Priyanka Kashyap said.

Khan and Rashid had previously delivered similar consignments at least four times, she said.

On the basis of information gathered, a team was sent to Lucknow and Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh to nab the other members of the syndicate, who were supposed to receive the consignment. The team raided several places and nabbed one Saddam from Jaunpur, the DCP said.

Another team was sent to Dehradun to find the source of the illegal ammunition. Police scanned CCTV cameras around the location where the consignment was exchanged, she said.

Later, police identified Negi, who runs a gun house in Dehradun. He was arrested during a raid. During interrogation, he disclosed that he had procured the ammunition from several gun houses in Uttarakhand as well as other sources, she said.

Negi used to manipulate documents pertaining to his gun house and pass on the ammunition to the other accused. He has supplied thousands of cartridges to the same syndicate at different places, the DCP said.

During interrogation, identities of three other members of the syndicate were ascertained and they were arrested, police said.

According to police, the consignment was scheduled to be delivered to Saddam in Lucknow, from where it was to be sent to another party. Ajmal and Rashid were using Delhi as a transit point and were commuting in public transport to avoid suspicion.

Saddam was introduced to Negi through a mutual acquaintance named Anil, who is currently lodged in Meerut jail, police said.

According to police, the recovered cartridges are of different calibre. Some more arrests are likely to be made and a deeper supply chain is likely to be exposed.